Author’s note:Several people asked
for the sequel to ‘Small Mercies’ so here it is – sort of.Sincere thanks once again to Rita Keller for
allowing me to adopt Lt. Chris James, my very favourite OC.I hope I did him justice.

TENDER MERCIES

by

Fidelma C.

He pushed open the heavy glass doors of
the Institute’s medical centre and stepped from the brightly lit foyer into the
relative darkness of the June night.Relative because the overhang and steps were well lit, as were NIMR’s
extensive grounds.And, even though it
was a Saturday night, illumination spilled from several AdministrationBuilding offices and, less so, from
the R&DBuilding and various Laboratories.

But night had fallen while he’d been
updating his patient’s chart and he was tired.Acceptably tired and, thank God, not the bone-deep exhaustion that had
been known to follow treatment of this particular patient.This once Lee’s injuries had been moderate
and he could safely head for his bed knowing that he was leaving his skipper in
good hands and was unlikely to be called out during the night.

Who was he kidding?He smiled wryly as he descended the six
concrete steps.If there had been any
question that he’d be needed in the ensuing hours he’d have slept on the pull
out couch in his office that had seen way too much action for his liking.At his age, he required eight straight in a
queen size bed with an orthopaedic mattress.His body craved it after each of his stints on the boat – although Seaview’s
accommodations were more generous than many vessels he’d served on.

Still, he’d spent enough sleepless nights
on behalf of the young man currently occupying one of the VIP suites – this
particular one somewhat sarcastically named by Med Bay’s irreverent staff ‘the
captain’s quarters’ – to appreciate the anticipation of a good night’s
rest.Shifting his briefcase to his left
hand, he dug in his pants pocket for his car keys.Despite the proximity of his residence –
Nelson insisted on his senior officers occupying condos on NIMR property – Will
liked to have his own

transportation close to hand at all
times.He’d stopped to rotate his head
several times to release the kinks in his neck and shoulders, frowning when he
smelled cigarette smoke – one of his pet hates, but he knew Nelson was in
Washington – and recognised familiar voices.

The gist of the conversation had him
standing in his tracks.

“When do you think we’ll hear?”The speech was clipped but Jamieson could
detect the hint of nerves the speaker was trying manfully to conceal.

Two – no, three – dramatically indrawn
breaths preceded three almost simultaneous bursts.

“Depends how bad it is.Doc ordered a CT scan AND an MRI.”Total lie, Jamieson almost chuckled,
stepping forward to intervene but abruptly decided to ride this one out – see
just where it was going.Lee had had a
CT scan but no MRI, not that Riley knew about either. Something was definitely
going on here!He could practically see
the young blond shake his head despairingly.

“Yeah, like the skipper just ran into his
bat!”Kowalski– Lee’s number one supporter – aside from
Morton.Will could hear the anger combined
with something else in the senior rating’s voice.

“It was an accident, Ski.”Will could practically visualise Kowalski
pace.He knew that Ski was the fairest
person in the world.No way would he
blame Lt. Chris James for the incident that had put their skipper into MedBay
– when his head was in the right place.Right now said head was far from their current location as evinced by
the fact that Ski was obviously smoking again.And he’d been off them for almost three years now since not long after
Crane had taken over as the boat’s captain.

“I know that!”Kowalski just about growled at Pat.Jamie could hear the slight hiss as Ski
ditched the cigarette and ground the stub under his heel onto the concrete.His groan was silent; his one goal in life –
aside from keeping Lee Crane alive and well – was to wean Nelson and Kowalski
off that wicked weed for good.And he’d
thought he was getting somewhere with Ski!

“Yeah, no way would the lieutenant have
gone for that shot if he’d known the skipper was gonna get hit.”An indignant Riley.

“Moron!You think I don’t know that?” Kowalski again;
his growl ever more menacing.And
Jamieson could almost see him getting up close and personal to Seaview’s youngest
crewman.

“I’m only sayin’…”

“Don’t!”

“Jeez, Ski…”

“Quit it, Stu.Just… quit it.”Jamieson could hear the senior rating’s
footfalls as he returned to pacing.And
he’d hazard a good guess that this wasn’t the first round of the same
conversation.

“Think it’ll be much longer?”Chris James’ voice wavered slightly, nerves
very nearly getting the better of him.Nearly, but there was also resoluteness behind the tiny quaver.Will smiled; almost paternally proud of the
young man.He knew both Lee and Chip
held the young officer in high regard and had earmarked him for greater
responsibility once he was a little more seasoned in the ways of Seaview and
her goings-on.

“Doc will let us know as soon as he
can.”Patterson’s calm tones once again.

“Yeah, but you never know how long
that’ll be when it’s the skipper.”Came
mournfully from Riley.“Always seems to
take forever with him.”

Too true, Riley, too true.

“D’you think he’ll be OK?I mean… there was an awful lot of blood.But head wounds do bleed a lot.”Jamie could hear Chris begin to pace now.

“Yeah, but he went out like a light.And he hadn’t come to by the time they got
him to MedBay.”Gee, thanks, Riley.Rub it in,
why don’t you.He almost groaned aloud
when the young seaman continued.“Longer
he’s out I guess the worse he must be.”

“Not necessarily.Sometimes the body just shuts down to allow
itself to heal.”Thank you,
Kowalski.“But he took a real bad blow.Woulda needed a lot of stitches.”Five, Ski, five!Thank you not so very much!

“Bet he’s gonna have some headache when
he wakes up.”Riley again.

“Won’t improve his mood any.He’s been like a bear since we got into port
cause of that knee of his.And if Doc
keeps him any length in MedBay….”

Dejectedly shaken heads would accompany
the three deep inhalations of breath. Jamieson was now beginning to sense where
this was going and a broad grin lit his thin features.

“Wouldn’t want to be around when Doc lets
him out, that’s for sure!”Three
identically nodding heads after that little pronouncement, Jamie would
bet.

“Wouldn’t want to be the one who landed
him in MedBay in the first place!No offence, sir.”Shut up, Riley!

“He’s gonna be pissed.”Even Patterson, rock of sense that he was,
sounded disconsolate.

“I am so screwed.”Chris’s voice was now decidedly shaky.“And I’m on the roster for control room duty
next cruise alongside the skipper.”

“Won’t be a problem if Doc don’t certify
him fit to go out on the next cruise.”Please
shut up, Riley.

“Nah, the lieutenant would have a worse
problem then.”Jamieson could now
identify the ‘something’ he’d heard in Ski’s voice earlier – relish!“He’d have the exec to deal with!”

Uh oh!They were bringing out the big guns now.

“Oh, boy!Mr. Morton ain’t gonna be happy.”Understatement, Riley.

“Yeah, you know the way he gets when
there’s anything wrong with the skipper.All quiet and growly at the same time.”Pat was getting into it as well now.Jamie struggled to suppress a chuckle.

“Nothing’s good enough for him.And if anyone so much as steps out of line…”

“He’ll have them assigned to KP duty for
a month!”Jamie could just about see all
three seamen shudder.

“Not to mention that if the skipper ain’t
on board then we don’t get any of the usual treats.”There were groans all round and he could
imagine the gloomy faces.

“Food’s never the same when the skipper’s
off the boat.”

“Cookie’s never the same when the
skipper’s off the boat!”This from Ski.

“And trust me, you DO NOT want to be
around Mr. Morton!”Riley had fallen
foul of the exec one too many times and his tone was heartfelt.

“Now hang on, I’ve never seen the XO lose
his temper – despite intense provocation.”Will was gratified to hear the young officer’s voice firm as he defended
his superior.

“He doesn’t have to lose it.He just has to look at you with that steely
glare and frown.Makes you feel about
two inches high.”He could almost feel
Ski shudder.

“Yeah, and then – without opening his
mouth – he makes you realise how disappointed the skipper’s gonna be and you
just about want to sink through the deck plates.”Patterson.

“And then he makes sure that you’re so
busy with extra duties that you don’t have time to even think about
gettin’ in trouble.”It seemed to Jamie
that Riley was usually in some sort of trouble with their exacting first
officer.

“Ain’t gonna be a fun cruise if the
skipper’s off injured and Mr. Morton’s in command.”Kowalski sighed deeply.

“When are any of our cruises exactly
‘fun’, Ski?”Patterson the pragmatist.

“You know what I mean, Pat.Murphy’s Law being what it is, you can
guarantee something’ll go wrong!And if Mr. Morton is worried sick about the skipper…”Ski was laying it on a bit thick now,
Jamieson thought wryly.

“Maybe it won’t come to that.Perhaps the captain will be okay in time for
the next cruise.”He could hear the hope
tinged with despair in Lt. James’ voice.

Breaths were sucked in.“You haven’t been aboard that long, sir.When the doc gets the skipper in his
clutches, well, the skipper he don’t stay down easy.”Kowalski again.“Soon as he’s conscious he starts yelling to
get out of SickBay.”You got that right, Ski.

“Yeah, it gets kinda loud.”Riley snickered.

“Well, that’s good then.”James’ relief was palpable.

“Not exactly.Either doc lets him out…”

“Or he ‘escapes’…”

“And then he re-injures himself…”

“And doc gets him back…”

“Or doc keeps him under until he thinks
he’s on the mend…”

“And then the skipper yells even louder
and is mad at doc…”

“Who doesn’t care one whit…”

“And then the admiral sides with doc…”

“And Mr. Morton helps the skipper
escape…”

“Then doc gets mad at the skipper and
the exec…”

“And the admiral has to calm everyone
down…”

“He finds out how the skipper
really is and then takes doc off to his cabin for a little restorative
whiskey…” Jamieson startled at Pat’s words.He hadn’t realised that was common knowledge on the boat.

“And Mr. Morton keeps the skipper out of
both doc’s and the admiral’s hair…”

“Ski, can I have a cigarette?”Will recognized it was time for him to take
action.Chris sounded like he was
getting a headache.

Strolling casually around the corner he
watched amusedly as all four leapt to their feet from the planters they’d been
perched on, Ski guiltily stuffing a cigarette pack into his pants pocket.

“Don’t you gentlemen have somewhere you
need to be?”He addressed the three
seamen, his tone mild but the glint in his eyes all-knowing and they quickly
grasped they’d been rumbled.

“Aye, sir.But, first, how’s the skipper?”Ski, as usual, was their spokesman.

“Sleeping – finally.A nice dent in his head that took five
stitches but won’t keep him down for long.”This last as young Chris James looked like he was going to be ill.

“Can I see him, sir?I’d… like to apologise.”The young officer straightened to almost
attention, despite his civvies.

“Tomorrow will be time enough,
Lieutenant.Rest is the best thing for
him right now.IF he behaves himself
I’ll release him to his condo tomorrow afternoon.You can go see him then.”He turned a narrow-eyed glare on the
others.“And you three can see him the
following day – if I can keep him away from the boat that long.”The latter was almost under his breath but
brought forth the requisite grins from the worried trio who melted silently
away at his “Be off with you now!”

Jamie cast his professional gaze over the
anxious young officer who was still practically leaping out of his skin, his
complexion tinged with pallor and fatigue, his sandy hair mussed from running
his hands repeatedly through it.God,
they must be sending babies to the Academy these days if all the graduating
officers looked this youthful.Either
that or he was getting old.He snorted
dryly, reminding himself to talk to Nelson about that.

There was no way young James was going to
sleep tonight in the hyper state he was in.Perhaps it would be best if he let him see for himself that Lee….No, not going to risk waking him for anything
short of a nuclear holocaust!

“Come on, son, I’ll drop you home.You look like you could use a drink.”

“I’m not much of a drinker, sir.I share with Bobby (O’Brien, Seaview’s
second officer) and there might be some beer in the fridge.”

Will was already shaking his head.Beer was not what was called for here.“I just happen to have a nice aged bottle of
Jameson’s at my place.Not quite the
admiral’s family tipple but tonight it will do admirably – if you’ll forgive my
atrocious pun.”He was relieved to see
that had scared up the ghost of a smile.He would do better than that – now that he had the lieutenant at his
tender mercy.He cupped his hand under
the younger man’s elbow and guided him towards the car, leaving Chris with no
option but to come along.

“And let me tell you a little story about
our esteemed captain and exec….”